Tufting attachment for sewing machines



June 14, 1938. CALLAHAN 2,120,229

TUFTING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed July 14, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet l I fig. 1 21 22 z; 9 i6 w fl J5 'I 56 a Li d Q? 50' I I h 30 52 r I i 54 27" GEORGE CALL/1 HAN INVENTOR.

BY 46mm ATTORNEY.

G CALLAHAN TUFTING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed July 14, 1957 7 June 14, 1938.

2Sheets-Sheet 2 6 50265 CALLHHAN I NVENTOR.

BY v ATTORNEY.

Patented June 14, 1938 UNITED STATES TUFTING ATTACHMENT FOR- SEWING MACHINES George Callahan, Resaca, Ga., assignor of onehalf to Leo Berman, Dalton, Ga.

Application Julyl4, 1937, Serial No. 153,467 1 Claim. (cn. 112-79) This invention relates generally to sewing machines, but more specifically to improvements in tufting attachments for the production of pile fabrics such as chenille bedspreads and the like.

5 The main object of the invention is to provide an attachment of the above class which has a minimum number and the simplest of parts and wherein the loops formed in the thread when the needle penetrates the fabric are received by a hook member radially oscillating with an indirect drive, the said loops being severed on the hook member by means of a cutting knife actuated by the oscillating movement of the hook member.

Another object of the invention is to provide 15 an attachment of the above class which may be installed in operative relation to the ordinary sewing machine without extensively altering the machine and at a very low cost, all the parts of the attachment being exposed to view and easily accessible for purposes of adjustment, replacement and repair.

These objects and other incidental ends and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appear in the progress of the disclosure and as pointed out in the appended claim.

Accompanying this specification are drawings showing a preferred embodiment of the invention wherein corresponding reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views and wherein:

Figure l is a rear view in elevation of a sewing machine showing a portion cut away to expose the main drive of the machine operating three cams and links, two giving the conventional 35 feed dog drivesThe conventional rotary oscillating motion, while the third link gives a tufting attachment drive a rotary oscillating motion.

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation of a sewing machine embodying the in- 40 vented tufting attachment.

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation similar to Figure 2 showing the relative positions of the threaded needle, the hook memher and the cutting mechanism of the tufting.at-

cordance with a preferred formthereof shown in the drawings, numeral designates the conventional head of a sewing machine having the main drive 16 disposed therein to reciprocate needle bar 11 carrying the needle I8, the said head also having a presser foot [9. The main drive or shaft- H5 is connected to a pulley 20 driven by any known external power source. The shaft I6 is provided with three cams or eccentrics 2|, 22 and 23 mounted thereon, the said cams giving the feed dog drives and the tufting attachment drive rotary oscillatory movement.

A rotary oscillatory motion is transmitted to the tufting attachment drive 24 by means of cam arm 25, the lower end of which arm 25 is pivotally secured to a link 26, the said link being fixed to drive 24; a rotary oscillatory motion is transmitted to one feed dog drive 21 by means of cam arm 28, the saidarm 28 being pivoted to one end ofa link 29, the other end of the said link 29 being fixed to the feed dog drive 21; and a rotary oscillatory motion is transmitted to the other feed dog drive 30 by means of cam arm 3| pivotedat its lower end to one terminal of link 32, the other terminal of link 32 being fixed to the said feed dog drive 30. Thus, the reciprocating movement'imparted to the cam arms 25, .28 and 3| by the cams or eccentrics 2|, 22 and 23 respectively are directly transmitted to give drives 24, 21 and 30 rotary oscillatory motion. The feed dog drives 21 and 30 extend longitudinally below derside of table 33. End brackets 30" and 21' journal drives 30 and 21.

The needle bar 11 reciprocates within the head 15 in the conventional manner, the said movement being accomplished by the known bell crank lever secured to the main drive Hi, the said lever not being shown in the drawings. The needle l8 reciprocates through the opening 36 of table 33 over which opening fabric 31 is fed. The presser foot 19 is operated by the usual mechanism within the head IS, the said mechanism not being shown in the drawings.

Feed dog drives 21 and 30 are provided with the feed dog bracket 38 at one end is rigidly secured to feed dog drive 21. The opposite end of bracket 39 is provided with a U slot 44 which rides on a roller 45 on the opposite end of bracket 38. Thus, the feed dog 46 is given an oval motion riding in and out of opening 36. The feed dog mechanism hereinabove described is the known equipment used on sewing machines provided with feed dogs for moving the fabric.

A bracket 46 is rigidly secured to the tufting attachment drive 24 to which bracket is adjustably secured a block 41 by means of. a screw 48 riding in a vertically disposed longitudinal slot 49 in the lower portion of block 41. The block 41 is disposed in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of drive 24. Secured to the upper end of block 41 is a loop receiving finger or hook member 58 having a cutting edge 5I and a hook 52 at the outer free end. Hook member 56 at the inner end is provided with a transverse slot 53 through which screw 54 passes into block 41 thereby making the position of hook member 50 adjustable relative to its lateral proximity to needle I8. It is understood that block 41 may be directly secured to tufting attachment drive 24 without the intervention of bracket 46, and that attachment to drive 24 may be accomplished by means of a set screw to give block 41 longitudinal adjustment along drive 24. It is also understood that block 41 need not be provided with means for vertical adjustment, the said means having been described illustratively by means of a screw 48 penetrating slot 49 and entering bracket 46.

A cutting blade 55 is pivotally connected at the upper portion thereof to the finger member 50 by any means such as screw 56, the lower end of the blade 55 being provided with a vertical slot 51 which rides on a pin 58 secured to a fixed support 59 extending from a depending bracket 60 of the table 33. Where a longitudinal adjustment is made on block 41, it may become necessary to make a corresponding adjustment of the position of pin 58. This may easily be accomplished by making the fixed support 59 adjustable along a plane parallel to the longitudinal axis of drive 24. The fixed support 53, as shown, is provided with a slot 59' at one end, the said slot being disposed perpendicularly to the axis of drive 24. A screw 59" penetrates the slot 53' and enters the bracket 60. In this way the cutting blade 55 is angularly adjustable relative to the cutting edge 5| of hook member 50'. Moreover, the opposing faces of cutting blade 55 and hook member 50 abut each other so that the cutting edges on the blade 55 and the cutting edge 5I of hook member 50 are in shearing relationship during the operation of the device.

Figures 3, 4 and 5 indicate the several positions of the tufting attachment parts in relation to the position of the reciprocating needle I8. The fabric 31, as shown in the said figures, is placed under the presser foot I8 above opening 36 in table 33 for purposes of tufting. The needle I8 carrying thread 6I pierces the fabric 31 and forms a loop 62 when the-needle I8 attains its first downward stroke. As needle I8 vertically rises from its downmost position, hook 52 proceeds downwardly in its oscillating motion to meet the ascending needle I8 at needle eye 63 whereby hook 52 picks up loop 62 as shown in Figure 3. During further ascension of needle I8, hook 52 retains the loop 62 as best shown in Figures 4 and 5. After needle I8 again descends and pierces fabric 31, loop 62, which has been caught on hook 52 on the prior ascending stroke, is forced back along the cutting edge 5I at the second ascending stroke of needle I8 by a second succeeding loop. At the third downward stroke, the first formed loop, being in the path of cutting blade 55, is severed.

The actual severing of the loops takes place during the downward stroke of needle I8 when cutting edge 5I passes theknife edge of blade 55. As hereinabove described, there must be two retained loops on cutting edge 5| so that the inner one is in the path of blade 55. It is of course understood that by adjusting the relative positions of blade 55 and cutting edge 5I, the necessity of an advance loop on cutting edge 5I before severance of the inner loop may be eliminated. Furthermore; by another adjustment, more than two loops may be carried on cutting edge 5I before the innermost one or ones is evenly severed by a single cutting operation.

It is during the downward stroke of needle I8 that the cutting edge 5| and the cutting edge of blade 55 meet each other in shearing relationship, blade 55 pivoting on upper screw 56 and on lower pin 58, the vertical displacement of blade 55 being provided for by the lower vertical slot 51 therein.

Thus, a tufting attachment has been described which is applicable to any sewing machine, the added mechanism consisting of another drive 24 the motions of which are similar to and synchronized with the feed dog drives 21 and 30, the said three drives deriving synchronized oscillatory rotary motion from main drive I6. In conjunction with the additional drive 24 are provided a loop receiving finger or hook member 50 secured to drive 24 and a cutting blade 55 pivoted to hook member 50 at one end and on the other end riding on a fixed pin 58 through a vertical slot 51 at the lower end of blade 55.

I wish at this point to make it understood that minor changes and variations in the simplifica-v tion and adjustability of the parts making up the tufting attachment as well as integration and connection of the parts per se and as assembled on the sewing machine may all be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention and without departing from the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

In a sewing machine of the character described including a main drive for reciprocating a nee die and for oscillating the feed dog shafts, an additional shaft similarly oscillated by the said main drive, a transverse extension block secured to the said additional shaft and radially oscillating with said shaft in a plane perpendicular to the plane in which the needle reciprocates, the said extension block having fixedly secured thereto a projecting looper portion with a hook on one end and a cutting edge inwardly thereof, the said looper portion being adjustable vertically and horizontally and oscillating across the path of movement of the needle to receive loops from the needle, a cutting blade having a vertical slot on the lower end and being pivotally connected at the upper end to said looper portion, and a fixed pivot horizontally adjustable engaging the said vertical slot whereby oscillating movements of the said extension swing the cutting edges of the blade and looper portions to and away from each other.

GEORGE CALLAHAN. 

